Wringer



Jan. 19, 1937. c. w. .WILLIAMS WRINGER Filed sepi'. 2s, 1955 3Sheets-Shadi. 1

ATTORNEYS.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Ia-m 19, 1937..

C. W. WILLIAMS' v WRINGER i Filed Sept. 23, 1935 lao Patented .Ihml 19,1937 'winnaars oharles'w. williams, cleveland, 'ohio ApplicationSeptember 23, 1935, Serial No. 41,706 2s claims. :(01. css-s2) =Thisinvention relates to a laundry wringer, which utilizes rotating pressurerolls to squeeze water from the clothes. It'is a general object of thisvinvention to provide a power-driven 5 wringer which will prevent injuryto the operator andwhichwill enable the operator to straighten theclothes and the buttons thereon,

while the lmaterial is Vbeing fed to the wringer, A*

without fear of injury. f p

Heretofore, laundry -wringers have been provided with a pair ofvhorizontally disposed pressure rolls and an auxiliary roll beneath thepressure rolls and adapted-tofsimultaneously coact withboth 'pressurerolls, without shifting the auxiliary rollin vthe plane of the axes of,the 'pressure rolls.;` These-wringers, to a vgreat extent, have beenundesirable, d ue to their'inability to `feed variedA types of material,such -as' are found in an ordinary household washing, to the pressurerolls. f"

Itl is ari object of this invention to provide a clothes wringer havingapair of pressure rolls;

together with an auxiliaryvroll arranged to coact with either. pressurerolly and at the same time 5- beV positively rotated independent of thefrictional contact between the auxiliary roll and its coacting`pressurerollfor the `clothes therebetween. It is also an object ofthisinvention to vprovide means 'to effect a reversal of the dire'ctionof rotation of such auxiliary roll when feeding from opposite sides ofthe wringer. A further object of this invention is to povide a clotheswringer wherein the pressure rolls are power-operated, and wherein theirrotation is automatically'stopped when clothes of a predeterminedthickness are -fed to the wringen'or lwhen the operators'v handsvareengaged by the auxiliary' roll andV its coasting, pressure roll.-Thisjstopping is desirable in preference to an automatiqseparation ofthe rolls, as it has been found that operators may become frightened bythe shockof -the pressure rolls .automatically v,flying apart.

provide 'opposite sides of' the wringenwith feed tables-to Icoact withthe auxiliary roll andits v fect'a reversal .of direction of rotationlof the auxiliary roll and a bodily` shifting of the same when it isdeemed necessary, and further, this 'Anadditional lobi-ect of thisinvention is to drainboard'to drain liquid from one side 'of the wringerto the other. l Further objects of the invention willv become moreapparent from the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred forms thereof. Theessential characteristics of the inventionvwill be set forth in theclaims.

Referring now tothe drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of myimproved wringer, together with the head to which it is fastened; Fig.'2 is'` a. section taken in a horizontal plane throughthe pressure rolls,as indicated by the lines 2 2 on Fig. 6; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionthrough the wringer, taken in a vertical plane passing through the axisof the auxiliary roll, as indicated by the lines 3 3 on Fig. 6;

Figs; 4, 5 and 6 are transverse sections through the wringer, asindicated by lines 4 4, 5 5, 6 6, respectively, on Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is anend view of 'the wringer, certain parts being broken away to show thedrain board and auxiliary roll shiftin'g mechanism; Fig.- 8 is a sectionsimilar to Fig. 5, showing a modified form of feed table;

' Figs. A9 and 10 are similar to Figs. 5 and 6, re-

spectively, showing a modified form of construction in which theauxiliary roll is shift'able horizontally; Fig. 11 is a sectional viewtaken along the irregular line Il ll on Fig. 9.

As shown in Fig.,1, my improved wringer com.- prises a main frame 20,supported by a wringer head 2|, which, in turn, supports a power shaftv22. The head is adapted to be positioned onl .the usual bracket orcolumn formation, which forms a part of the vpresent day washingmachines and which carries a vertically extending power shaft adapted tobe coupled with the shaft v 22 'of -the wringer head 2l in the usualmanner.,

The usual pair of i bevelled gears within the head f transmits therotation of the shaft 22 at right' angles to a shaft 23 (Fig. 3) whichextends into the wringer frame 20. A supplemental frame `24 is provided,which is hingedly carried by thev lower frame at 25, and which acts as acover for' the main frame of the wringer.

A pair of wringerrolls are disposed in a-substantia-lly horizontal planewithin the wringer, and as shown in Fig, comprise rolls A and' B. Roll Bis carried by a shaft 2B, which .is jour-v nalled at its ends inbrackets 28, fastened by'suitable bolts to bosses`30, of thesupplemental frame.

manufacture, a shim is interposed between the bracket 28 `and the bosses30, and is extended as at 3| to overlie the Journal blocks of theH 'Ilocompensatev for wear and inaccuracy in pressure roll A, for a pin'poseto be hereinafter described.

The pressure roll A is pivotally mounted in the frame 20. As shown, thisroll is mounted on a shaft 21 which is journalled at each end in bearingblocks 32. The blocks are each provided with a bolt 33 which is slidablymounted in a yoke 34. The yokes 34 are pivotally supported by respectivepivot shafts 35 carried by the frame 20, the arrangement being such thatthe axis of the shafts 35 align with each other. Wringing pressure isapplied to the roll A by suitable springs 36 which encircle the bolts 33and react between respective yokes 34 and bearing blocks 32. The boltsare, as shown in Fig. 2 provided with suitable heads 31 which engagetheir respective yokes to prevent excessive movement of I the roll in adirection away from the yokes,

when the roll is not in operative wringing position.

The rolls A and B are forced into wringing K relation with each other,against the pressure springs 36, when the supplemental frame 24 is swungabout its pivots 25, the shims 3l engaging the top of the journal blocks32, which -carry the pressure roll A; forcing such blocks' downwardlyagainst the top of brackets 40 mounted in the lower part of the vframe20, and

' secured thereto by suitable bolts, and arranged to maintain the axisof the roll A a slight distance above a plane passing through the axisof the roll B and the axis of the pivot shafts 35.

'I'he supplemental frame 25 is locked with respect lto the frame 20 in amanner similar to that described in the copending application of CharlesB. Williams, Serial No. 690,374. As there described, this locking meansis manually operable by the action of the knobs N, one of which iscarried by each end portion of the cover 24. These knobs are providedwith pins 4I which extendthrough the cover 24 and consequent upon thedepression of a knob swing a latch 42, against the action of a spring 43, and out of engagement with a pin 44 carried by the frame 20. When thecover 24 is swung against the lower frame, a cam surface 39 of the latchengages the pin 44 and together with the spring 43 causes the latch toautomatically reengage the pin 44. A downward movement of the knob Nreleases the locking means, and due to the compression springs 36 andthe fact that the axis of the roll A is retained above the plane of theaxes of the pivots 35 and roll B, the roll A is forced upwardly. Theroll A thus opens the wringer, by pushing against the unlatched cover24, and rocking the same about its pivots 25.

A pair of strippers S and a deflector D coact with the pressure rolls Aand B to strip clothes therefrom, as described and claimed in theabove-mentioned copending application Charles B. Williams, No. 690,374.

An auxiliary roll C, somewhat greater in dilof ameter than the pressurerolls A and B, is disslots extending vertically of the slidewayandadapted to be engaged by projections on corresponding sides of thejournal blocks may be used to maintain the same in coacting relation.

Coil springs 48 are interposed between the lower face of each journalblock 46 and the respective brackets 40. These springs act to urge theauxactually contacting with the pressure rolls. It4

has been found by experience that for the best operation, the roll Cshould at no time actually contact with the surface of rolls A and B.

A guide is provided to strip the clothes from the roll C and direct themupwardly into thev bite of the pressure rolls A and B. As shown .inFigs. 1 to 7, this guide comprises a member 50 which is freely movablein vertical slots 5| in respective brackets 40, thereby permitting theguide to lie against the roll C- and rise and fall therewith.

Feed tables are provided to facilitate the feeding of the clothes intothe bite betweenthe auxiliary roll C and itscoacting pressure roll A orB, as the case may be. As shown in Fig. 5, these feed tables maycomprise a pair of arcuate members 52, one disposed on each side of theauxiliary roll C. The feed tables are provided with pintles 53 'whichare pivotally mounted in the brackets 40. lSprings 62 interposed betweenthe feed tables 52 and the brackets 40 hold the free edge of therespective feed tables 52 against the surface of the roll C. It shouldbe noted that the edges of the feed tables 52, which contact with theroll C, terminate at such a point .that they never reach the bitescreated between the roll C and its coacting pressure rolls. These feedtables facilitate the operation of the wringer, as they enable theoperator to feed the clothes to the wringer in a substantiallyhorizontal direction.

The auxiliary roll controls the drivingconnection between the wringerrolls and the power shaft 23 of the wringer head. As shown'in Figs 2 and5, I illustrate a rock shaft 55 as extending substantially across thewringer and journalled in the brackets 40 (Fig. 6) Suitable arms 56 aresecured to this rock shaft and are adapted to be engaged by respectiveends of the auxiliary roll shaft 45 when the latter is depressed. Thearrangement is such that, when the auxiliary roll is moved downwardlybya normal thickness of material, there will be no contact between theroll shaft and the arms 5 6. If, however, either the fingers of theoperator or an excessive thickness ofclothing pass into the bite of theauxiliary roll and a coacting pressure roll, the auxiliary roll willmove downwardly, against the action of its springs 48, until its shaft45 contacts with and vrocks one or both of the arms '56 downwardly,

6| which meshes therewith. The idler gear 75 aoeasee The powerseparation is accomplished by moving the idler gear 6i out of mesh withthe roll v gear 62. As shown, the idler gear is journalled on a shaft63, which is carried by a lever 64, pivotally carried by the shaft 23.The arrangement is such that the gears 66 and 6i are constantly inmeshgwith each other.

The lever 64 is arranged to be swung about its pivot consequent upon therocking of the arm 51, heretofore described, by a suitable spring 58interposed between the lever 64 and the frame 28. The lever 64 is heldin the position illustrated in Fig. 4 by a latch 65 whichlis pivoted tothe frame 2U as at 66 and normally engages a pin 61 in the lever 64. Thelatch is rocked out of engagement with the pin by a link 68 which ispivotally connected between the latch 65 and the arm 51. A

suitable spring 69 normally acts to maintain the e latch engaged and thelever 51 in its uppermost position. t

When either an excess thickness of clothing or the operators hand entersthe bite of the auxiliary roll C and its coacting pressure roll Aor B,the roll C is forced downwardly against the action of the compressionsprings 48, until it rocks one or both of the rock-arms 56, togetherwith the shaft 55, and causes the arm 51 to draw the link 68 downwardly,rocking the latch 65 clockwise about its pivot, causing it to disengagethe pin 61. The spring 58 then rocks .the arm 64 counter-clockwiseAcausing a separation Aof the gear 6I from the gear 62, thereby stoppingthe rotation of the pressure rolls. A second latch formation 15 in thelatch 65 coacts with the pin 61 and limits the movement of the lever 64and the latch 65.

In the normal operation of the wringer, the operator depresses the knobN immediately after the automaticdisconnection of the. power mechanismtakes place, and releases the cover latching mechanism, causing thesupplemental frame 24 to rock upwardly about its pivots 25, therebypermitting the operator to extract `the excess thickness of clothes frombetween/the Wringer rolls. The subsequent lowering ofdthe cover 2icauses the pin 10, carried thereby, to act against a cam surface 13formed at the ,upper end of the lever 64 and return such lever to itsoriginal position, permitting the latch formation 16 of the latch 65'toreengage the pin 61, thus" restoring the driving connection to thepressure roll B. When the excess thickness oi"I clothes has been removedfrom the wringer, the pressure of the auxiliary roll C against the arms56 is removed, whereupon the spring 69 causes the latch 65 to return toits normal position and engage the pin 61 of the lever 65.

The auxiliary lroll C is rotated independent of frictional engagementwith its coacting pressure roll or the material therebetween. As shownin Fig. 6, a gear 88 is fastened to each of the pressure roll shafts 26and 21, at the ends thereof, farthest from the power head. Disposed inthe same vertical plane with these gears is a gear 8i, carried by theshaft 45 of the auxiliary roll C. The respective diameters of the gearsand 8| are proportional to the diameters of the associated rolls A, Band C. A suitable idler gear 83 is selectively interposed between eitherof the gears 80 and the gear 8|. Thus, when the roll C isdriven by suchgearing, its surface speed is the same as that of its coacting pressureroll.

The idler gear 83 is carried by a shaft 84, jourits associated wringerclosure members.

nalled in an arm 85, which is pivotally mounted on the shaft 45 of theauxiliary roller C. When clothes are fed into the left-hand side of thewringer, as shown in Fig. 5, the relation between these various gearswill be as shown in Fig. 6,

the auxiliary roll C being positively driven toly provide a bite withthe pressure roll A. However, when the clothes are fed from the righthand side of the wringer, the idler gear will be positioned to coactwith the left-hand gear 98, thereby reversing the direction of rotationofi the 1 auxiliary roll C to provide a bite with the roll B.

The gearing. is so arranged that when an excess thickness of materialpasses between either the rolls A or B, and the roll C, the latter rollwill drop to such an extent that the gear 83 will cease to engage itscoacting gear 80. When such excess thickness is removed, the gears willautomatically reengage due to theaction of the auxiliary roll springs54. l

Mechanismv is provided to effect a` shifting of the idler gear 83 toengage either gear 88 desired. vSuch mechanism is shown in Figsn'? and1l, and comprises a manually operable lever mounted outside of thewringer on a pin 9i which is journalled in and extends through the frame26.` On the interior of the wringer the pin 9| has secured thereto anarm 92. provided with a slot 93, adapted to receive the shaft 66 whichcarries the idler gear 86. I

It will be apparent from. Fig. '1 that when the lever ,90 is moved fromone side of the wringer to the other, the idler gear 83`moves fromengagement with 'one gear 88 to-engagement with the other gear 80. Thesizes of these gears is such, that the idler gear 83 is entirely out ofcontact with one gear v86 before it engages the other gear.

In addition to reversing the direction of rotation of the auxiliary rollC, the arm 90 is `utilized to effect a shifting of the drain board, andThe drain board shown in Figs. 5 and '7, together with closure memberswhich selectively close the side feed openings of the wringer, aresubstantially the same as thoseshown, described and claimed in thecopending application of Charles B. Williams, Serial No. 690,374.

Briefly, such drain board comprises a troughshaped member 95. pivotallydisposed beneath an opening a in the bottom of the frame 20. Thisvdrainboard is secured 'to ashaft 96 journalled in a bracket 96a carriedbythe frame 20 to enable it to be tilted to divert the' water wrung fromthe clothes to either side of the wringer, as desired by the operator.The closure members each comprise a. plate 91 substantially the size ofthe A to permit access to the wringer from that side,

the other closure member, for instance, the righthand member, will beswung upwardly to a closed -l position to prevent access to the otherside of the wringer.

The position of the closure member is dependentA upon the position ofythe drainboard. As shown, a link |00 is pivotally connected. betweeneach closure member and-its respective side of the drainboard.

The drainboard is'tilted by the operating lever 90, heretoforedescribed. .Hence when the wringer is set to permit feeding of materialfrom the left-hand side, as in Fig. 5, the drain board will be tilted todivert the water toward that side and the auxiliary roll will be rotatedin a clockwise direction. 'I'he reverse will be true if the Wrin'ger isset to feed from the opposite or righthand side. As shown in Fig. 7, thelower end of the lever 90 is provided with a fork |0I arranged to engagea pin |02 in a lever |03 pivoted at |04 to the frame 20. This lever inturn carries a pin |05, which engages a forked lever |06 which issecured to the drainboard rockshaft 96.

Thus, when' the handle `90 is drawn from one side of the wringer to theother, it not only effects a shifting of the yidler gear 83 to reversethe direction of rotation of the auxiliary roller C, but also effects ashifting of the drainboard 95, and the closure members 91.

l In Fig. 8 I illustrate a modified form of feed table. As there shown,the feed table comprises an arcuate shield |06 embracing the auxiliaryroll C. The top surface of this feed table is pro-l vided with a slotthrough which the upper region of the auxiliary roll C protrudes topermit coaction of such'roll with either pressure roll A or B. This feedtable or shield |06 terminates, at each end of the roll C, in endmembers |01 adapted to engage and be carried by the journal blocks 46which support the auxiliary roll shaft 45. In this construction, thearcuate feed table and the guide 50 both move up and down as a unit withthe auxiliary roll C. It will be noted that this modification alsopermits the use of a substantially horizontal intake.

The wringer may beconstructed with the auxiliary roll C shiftable fromside to side, to coact with either pressure roll as desired. Such amodification is shown in Figs. 9, 1,0 and 11. Here the entire wringer issubstantially the same, except for the mechanism directly concerned withthe auxiliary roll,

As shown inA Figs. 9 and 11, the auxiliary roll C is'carried in journalblocks ||0 which are urged upwardly toward the pressure rolls bycompression springs A stripper guide ||2 is provided similar to thestripper guide 50 and is vertically reciprocable in slots carried by theframe brackets 3. This guide is retained in coaction with the auxiliaryroll C by a link ||4, which is pivotally carried by the roll shaft 45.

To permit lateral movement of the auxiliary roll C, enlarged openingsorguideways ||5 are provided in frame brackets ||3.

In order that the auxiliary-roll C will contact with its coactingpressure roll,vthe surfaces of the bracket |3 which contact with thejournal blocks are disposed slightly above the highest position reachedby the journal ||0, which selectively occupies recesses I|6 formedinuisuch surfaces.

The auxiliary roll C is shifted from side to side by a manually operablelever |20 mounted on a shaft |2| outside of the wringer. This shaftextends through the frame 20 and on its inner end is provided with adownwardly extending arm |22. This arm is provided with a slot |23adapted to receive the shaft 45 of the auxiliary roll C. The lower endof the arm |22 is slotted, and coacts with the pin of the arm |06 whichtilts the drainboard.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 9-11, where the roll C is shiftable,the shaft 9,6 is extended across the wringer and is operatively con-Wnected to a member |22 on each end of the roll. Thus, the member |22directly connected to the handle |20 is aided by a similar memberpivoted to the frame bracket 40 on the other side of the roll C andoperated through the shaft 9 6 to effectively shift that roll intocoaction with either pressure roll desired. As in the preferred form,the auxiliary roll C is permitted sufficient downward movement until ina predetermined position it engages the rock arms 56 to disconnect thewringer rolls from the source of power, as heretofore described. Stops|25 are provided to limit the. downward movement of the feed tablemembers 52, when the auxiliary roll is moved out of contact therewith,although a feed table, as shown in Fig. 8, at |06, may be provided, inwhich case the stops are not necessary.

To drive the auxiliary roll of the modified form, a gear |30 having apitch diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the auxiliary rollis secured to its shaft 45 and is arranged to selectively mesh witheither of a pair of interengaging gears |3| carried by respectivepressure roll shafts 26 and 21. Thus, when the auxiliary roll C isshifted from one side of the wringer to the other, the gear |30 is movedfrom engage- It will be seen from the foregoing description that I haveprovided an efficient wringer especially adapted for use in connectionwith a power operated domestic Washing machine and that such wringeraffords a high degree of safety to the person of the operator, andgreatly facilitates the feeding of clothes or other materials to bewrung into and through thewringer.

I claim:

1. In a wringer. a pair of horizontally disposed pressure rolls, anauxiliary roll disposed beneath and shiftable to coaet with either ofthe pressure rolls as desired and means to selectively rotatesaidauxiliary roll independently ofrclothes fed to the wringer inlladirection to provide a bite with the pressure roll with which saidauxiliary roll is moved to coact.

2. In a wringer, a pair of pressure rolls, an auxiliary roll adapted tocoact with one of the pressure rolls to provide a bite therewith and afeed table to guide clothes into said wringer, comprising a memberhaving one edge substantially in contact with said auxiliary roll andmeans tol support said member for bodily shifting relative to a pressureroll` 3. In a wringer, a frame, a pair of pressure lrolls mounted insaid frame, an auxiliary roll adapted to coact with one of the pressurerolls to provide a bite therewith and a feed table to guide clothes intosaid bite, comprising a member pivotally carried by said frame andhaving one edge substantially in contact with said auxiliary roll, andresilient means to maintain said edge in contact with the auxiliaryroll.

4. In a Wringer, a frame, a pair of pressure rolls mounted in said framewith an upwardly extending' bite, and power operated guide means beneathsaid pressure rolls and reversible in direction of surface movementwithout bodily shifting to receive material from either side of theWringer and guide it into the bite of the pressure rolls. Y

5. In a wringer, a frame, a pair of pressure rolls mounted in said framewith an upwardly extending bite, power operated guide means reversiblein direction of surface movement without bodily shifting to receiveclothes from either side of the wringer to' guide clothes to the bite oithel pressure rolls and means acting in conjunction with said firstnamedguide means, to facilitate the guiding ofY clothesinto the bite of saidpressure rolls.

6. In a wringer, a frame, a pair of pressure rolls mounted in said framewith an upwardly extending bite, power operated guide means reversiblein direction of surface movement without bodily shifting to receiveclothes from either side of the wringer, means to operate said guidemeans independently of clothes fed to the wringer to guide clothes tothe bite of the pressure rolls and means .to direct clothes from saidfirst guide means into the bite of the pressure rolls. I

7. In a wringer, a pair kof pressure rolls arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, an

auxiliary roll, shiftable means to support said 4with respect to saidauxiliary roll to guide clothes from the bite of the auxiliary'roll andl either coacting pressure roll into the bite of the pressure rolls.

r9. In a wringer, apair of pressure rolls, an auxiliary roll adapted tobe moved to coact with either pressure roll toprovide a bite therewith,

means to rotate the auxiliary roll independently of clothes fed to thewringer and a guide disposed between the brolls to strip clothes fromthe auxiliary roll.

10. In a wringer, a pair of coacting pressure rolls disposed insubstantially the same horizontal plane, an auxiliary roll mounted withitsaxis in a vertical plane, substantially normal to the rst-named planeand passing substantiallythrough the bite of the pressure rolls, saidauxiliary roll being substantially in contact with both pressure rolls,and a guide arranged to rest on said auxiliary roll between the threerolls, and means to restrict the movement of said guide to movements ina substantially vertical plane.

11, In a wringer, a pair of pressure rolls, vdisposed in the samesubstantially horizontal plane, resilient means adapted to retain saidpressure rolls in wringing relation, an auxiliary roll disposed beneathsaid pressure rolls and adapted to coact with ieither pressure rolldesired without shifting said auxiliary roll, and a guide disposedAbetween the three rolls adapted to strip material from the auxiliaryroll and guide the same into the bite of the pressure roll.

12. In a wringer, a .pair of pressure rolls disposed ina substantiallyhorizontal plane, resilient means adapted to urge said pressure rollsinto wringing relation, anauxiliary roll disposed beneath said pressurerolls and adapted to coact with either pressure roll without horizontalshifting, and means to positively rotate said auxiliary roll independentof clothes fed to the wringerl to cause said auxiliary roll to rotatestop the rotation of the roll consequent upon thepassing into thewringer of material thicker than a predetermined thickness.

13. In a wringer, a' pair of horizontally disposed.v pressure rolls, anauxiliary roll disposed beneath and shiftable to coact with either ofthe pressure rolls as desired,` a drainboard shiftable Y to divertliquid to either side of theI` v wringer, means to selectively rotatesaid auxiliary roll independently of clothes fed to the wringer in adirection to provide an intake bite with the pressure roll with whichsaid auxiliary is moved to coact, and means to reverse the direction ofrotation of the auxiliary roll and simultaneously shift the drainboardto divert liquid from the side of the wringer providing said intakebite. v

14. In a wringer, 'a frame, a pair of horizontally disposed pressurerolls mounted in a substantially horizontal plane in said frame, anauxiliary roll adapted to coact with either pressure roll to provide abite therewith and a feed table to guide clothes into said bite,comprising a pair of members pivotally carried. by said frame on eitherside of the auxiliary roll, each having one edge positioned tosubstantially contact with said auxiliary roll and resilient means tomaintain said members in substantial contact with the auxiliary roll onopposite sides thereof.

15. In a wringer, a pair of pressure rolls arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, an auxiliary roll rotatably mounted in the frame, anarcuate feed table embracing the upper portion of the auxiliary roll andextending from one end to the other thereof, and having a slottedopening in its upper face through which the periphery of the auxiliaryroll projects, and

resilient means to maintain the auxiliary roll' projecting through theopening in the table and urge such roll toward the two pressure rolls.

16. In a wringer, a frame, a pair of pressure rolls mounted in asubstantially horizontal plane in said frame, an, auxiliary roll adaptedto coact with either pressure roll to provide bites therewith and avfeed table on each side of said auxiliary roll to guide clothes intoeither of said bites, and a stripper guide adapted to guide clothes fromthe bite of the auxiliary roll and its coacting pressure rollv into the`bite of the pair of vpressure rolls.

v1'7. In a wringer, a pressure roll, a second pressure roll movable awayfrom said rst pressure roll, an auxiliary roll positioned to coact withboth pressure rolls, power mechanism to drive said rolls, a separabledriving connection from saidmechanism `to said rolls, means operableupon a predetermined separation between to disconnect said drivingmechanism to stop the rotation of said rolls, means to move said rollsapart and means acting consequent upon moving said rolls together torestore said driving connection.

18..In a wringer, a pressure roll, a second pressure roll movable awayfrom said irst pressure roll, an auxiliary roll positioned to coact withboth pressure rolls, power mechanism to drive said rolls, a separabledriving connection between said rolls and said mechanism, resilientmeans to urge said pressure rolls together, means operable upon apredetermined'separation between said auxiliary roll and one of saidpressure rolls to disconnect said driving connection,

means to remove the pressure of said resilient driving connection andrestore the pressure of said resilient means on said rolls.

19. In a wringer, a frame, a pair of pressure rolls. mounted in theframe, an auxiliary roll positioned to coact with either pressure roll,resilient means to urge said auxiliary roll toward said pressure rollsto provide bites between said auxiliary roll and each pressure roll, afeed table on each side of said auxiliary roll to guide clothes into thebite of said auxiliary roll and the adjacent pressure roll, a stripperguide disposed between the three rolls to guide clothes from eitherauxiliary roll bite into the bite of the two pressure rolls, means torotate said auX- iliary roll independent of clothes fed to the Wringer,means to render inoperative said rotating means when clothes of apredetermined thickness are fed to the wringer, means to 'separate saidpressure rolls and means to simultaneously move said pressure rollstogether and render effective said operating means'.

20. A three-roll wringer to which clothes may be fed from either sidewithout bodily shifting the rolls, comprising a frame, three rollscarried by said frame in substantially triangular arrangement, with oneroll coacting with each of the others to .provide an intake bite and apressurev roll bite respectively, a guide member 1ocated between thethree rolls and adapted to guide clothes from the intakebite to thepressure roll bite.

21. A three-roll wringer to which clothes may be -fed from either sidecomprisingl a frame, three rolls carried in said frame in substantiallytriangular arrangement with one roll coacting with each of the other twoto provide an intake bite and a pressure bite respectively, a guideadapted to guide clothes from the intake bite4 to the pressure rollbite, power means to rotate saidj Wringer rolls and means actingconsequent upon feeding a predetermined thickness of material to saidintake bite to stop the rotation of said rolls.

22. A three-roll wringer to which clothes may be fed Vfrom either sidethereof comprising a frame, three rolls carried by said frame insubstantially triangular relation, one of said'rolls coacting with eachof the other two to provide an intake bite and a pressure roll biterespectively, resilient means to retain said rolls in the aforementionedtriangular relationship, a gear carried on one of said roll shafts, agear carried on another of said roll shafts and an idler gear interposedbetween said gears to rotate the second gear and its roll consequentupon rotation of the rst gear and its roll.

23. A three-roll wringer to which clothes may be fed from either sidewithout bodily shifting the rolls, comprising a frame, three rollsmounted in said frame in triangular relation, said rolls beingpositioned to provide an intake bite at each side of the Wringer, one ofsaidrolls coacting with a second roll to form the intake bite on theside of the wringer desired and also coacting with the third roll toprovide a pressure roll bite, and a guide means located between thethree rolls to receive clothes from the intake bite and guide them tothe coacting;l pressure roll bite, and meansacting consequent uponfeeding a predetermined thickness of material to said intake bite tostop the movement of material through the wringer.

CHARLES W. WILLIAMS.

